Month: April 2017

How was your week? Buds appeared on all the trees seemingly overnight and May is just around the corner, so I think it’s finally safe to say this: it’s springtime. Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Bon Appetit – Grilled Steak Salad with Beets and Scallions
I’ve made variations of this salad before, and it’s always delicious. Use a mixture of greens you like, and go for skirt steak if you can find it — despite its reputation as a tough cut, skirt steak is really tender when cooked to medium-rare and cut against the grain, plus it’s usually less expensive per pound than strip steak.

Saveur – The Real Reason Chinatown Produce is Crazy Cheap
Hint: it has nothing to do with subpar produce. Thanks to low overhead and their proximity to distribution warehouses, Chinatown produce vendors are able to pass on savings to their customers, as well as offer a wider selection of fruits and vegetables that are difficult to find elsewhere. Bring a reusable bag and experiment with produce you’ve never tried before!

Racked – Princess for a Day, Disney Bride for Life
“The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, because Disney weddings happen ’round-the-clock … Brides and brave-faced loved ones arise as early as 3 a.m. to begin hair and makeup prep, employing glam squads whose typical call-times occur in the middle of the night. The guests, too, rise promptly — weddings that take place inside Disney’s Florida theme parks begin two hours before regular parkgoers enter, which means they can start as early as 7:30 a.m., or two hours after parks close.” This is next-level commitment.

One of my favourite kitchen tools takes up no extra storage space, but definitely pulls its weight in terms of getting dinner on the table quickly, minimizing food waste, and helping me make sure that we’re eating a well-rounded diet. Can you guess what it is? Continue reading “Two Easy Upgrades for a Better Dinner”→

How was your week? Toronto’s a good place to be this weekend — the Maple Leafs and the Raptors are still fighting through the first round of their respective playoff matchups, the High Park cherry blossoms are predicted to bloom any minute now, and tomorrow is Record Store Day! Here’s what I’ve been reading:

The New York Times – The Year of Conquering Negative Thinking
Have you ever noticed that it’s much easier to help a friend see their strengths and talents than it is to recognize our own? Why is that? We may never be able to completely escape our negative or anxious thoughts, but we can certainly learn to control them. One strategy: consider what advice you would give to a friend in a similar situation, then apply it to yourself. Deep breaths! We can do this.

Chatelaine – We Packed up the Kids and Moved to Tanzania. Then Things Fell Apart
This author’s account of moving her family from Ontario to Tanzania is far from the Eat, Pray, Love-esque travelogues we’ve become accustomed to seeing in the past few years, which is refreshing (not to mention incredibly anxiety-inducing!). Would you ever make such a huge, life-altering decision without a back-up plan?

How was your week? The Toronto Blue Jays are back! The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs started this week! This can only mean one thing: watching loads of sports and eating tons of snacks. Here’s what I’ve been reading, a day early because I’m traveling tomorrow for the Easter holiday:

Food & Wine – 17 Great Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
If you missed National Grilled Cheese Day on Wednesday, catch up this weekend with one of these delicious-looking sandwiches, including the Époisses Grilled Cheese and Pepper Jelly Sandwiches (above), which I need in my life immediately.

NBC Sports – Flipping Out
October 2015 was a heady time: “Hotline Bling” was on heavy rotation, Obama was still President, and the Toronto Blue Jays won the 2015 American League Division Series over the Texas Rangers after a controversial 53-minute seventh inning in Game 5 that had everyone in our neighborhood bar gawping at the screen, occasionally breaking the silence to ask, “what in the hell is going on?!” MLB.com columnist Joe Posnanski and Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur recap “a game NOBODY HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE” in what is definitely my favourite piece of sports writing ever.

The New York Times – The Fighter
This feature on Sam Siatta, a veteran Marine who committed a violent crime upon his return from serving in Afghanistan, is one of three NYT pieces to win a 2017 Pulitzer Prize. It’s a sad story about PTSD and the cost of warfare, but worth your time this weekend.

I have a bit of an obsession with limited-edition holiday-themed snack foods. Spotting Pumpkin Spice Oreos or Snowflake Ritz Crackers at the grocery store definitely makes my heart beat a little faster.

So when I came across Spring Pastel M&M’s in the candy aisle a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help myself. I knew they’d would make cute cookies for Easter, so I threw a bag into the cart when Adrian wasn’t looking and hid them away until the snow (finally) melted.

M&M’s are an excellent cookie mix-in because they don’t melt or burn easily, the colours are really fun, and they’re not too sweet in small quantities.

Use a stand mixer (or handheld mixer) to cream the butter and sugars, and take your time — spending several minutes on this step helps ensure that your dough is well-aerated, which will help you achieve a great texture in your final cookie.

How was your week? I woke up to snow this morning, so I’m hiding out with a book and coffee until it melts. It’s also the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, so if you’re a history nerd like me, you should watch CBC’s 360 documentary, narrated by Peter Mansbridge. Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Wired – An Aircraft Design That’ll Make You Love the Middle Seat. No Joke
I’m six feet tall and mildly claustrophobic, so unless I’m traveling with two other friends in my row, I always book an aisle seat to avoid hours of anxiety and battles over the armrest. This new, wider middle seat design looks like a great concept and I hope to see it on planes in the near future — I’ll probably still choose an aisle seat, but at least I won’t feel so badly for the person in the middle!

Food & Wine – 98-Year-Old Man Bakes Over 144 Apple Pies to Honor His Late Wife
“Everything [Leo Keller] bakes, he gives away for free. He whips up baked goods for the sick, for fellow widowers and widows, and even provides baked goods for funeral receptions. ‘To see the smile on their face. That’s worth all the money in the world. Nobody can buy that,’ Keller, whose caregiver occasionally helps make the baked goods, commented. ‘That smile means so much to me.'”

Munchies – These 3 Dudes Drove 1,000 Miles to Try the Only McDonald’s Pizza in America
I remember eating McDonald’s pizza as a kid and being less-than-impressed — after my friend’s “Make Your Own Pizza Party” at Pizza Hut in 1993, every other chain restaurant pizza paled in comparison — so I don’t know if I would spend two days traveling to West Virginia to try it again. How far would you drive for a taste of vintage McDonald’s menu items? I wonder if they also still carry the Arch Deluxe …

It’s been almost two months since I started my bullet journal in the hopes of getting more organized at home, so I thought I’d do a quick accountability post. Here’s how my bullet journal adventure is unfolding so far!

Overall, I really like the process of using my bullet journal. It took me a while to get the hang of it, and I’m still refining the process to make it work for me — I have a tendency to spend way too much time doodling, which isn’t a problem when you use an electronic calendar — but the benefits of using a paper method are becoming very clear.

I use my bullet journal primarily to track my habits. I experimented with a few different layouts before landing on the one I used for my April 2017 habit tracker (above). It makes it really easy to see how consistent I’m being over the course of the month.